Rev. Franklin Graham does not believe President Donald Trump would “knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ,” weighing in on the controversial AI image posted then deleted on President Donald Trump’s account.
Trump sparked outrage after many claimed the commander-in-chief depicted himself as Jesus in an image which shows Trump wearing a white robe with red sash touching a sick American. A nurse and member of the U.S. military are also in the image, which shows an eagle and aircraft in the sky along with the Statue of Liberty and American flag. Trump deleted the image and denied that he was depicting himself as Jesus, the Son of God.
“Well, it wasn’t depiction. It was me. I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross; there’s a Red Cross worker there, which we support,” Trump said of the controversial post.
“Only the fake news could come up with that one. So I just heard about it, and I said, ‘How do they come up with that?’ It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better,” he added.
Graham, a Christian, said that if Trump did depict himself as Jesus, it is “certainly” inappropriate. However, he does not believe Trump did so knowingly.
“I had received some questions about President Donald J. Trump’s recent posts, and here are my thoughts,” he began.
“I do not believe President Trump would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ — that would certainly be inappropriate. I’m thankful the President has made it very clear that this was not at all what he thought the AI-generated image was representing — he thought it was a doctor helping someone, and when he learned of the concerns, he immediately removed the post,” Graham said, explaining that he did not jump to the same conclusions as others when he saw the image.
Graham pointed out that there were no “spiritual references” in the image, such as crosses or halos.
“It was a flag, soldiers, a nurse, fighter planes, eagles, the Statue of Liberty, and I think this is a lot to do about nothing. There is so much ill-intended speculation. I think his enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad,” Graham said.
He added that Trump reposted someone else on Truth Social this week, depicting Jesus next to Trump with His hand on his shoulder.
“And the illustration from someone else he reposted on Truth Social yesterday, I must say that I like the fact that this is a picture of Jesus whispering in his ear, or at least his hand on his shoulder, guiding him. We all need that — we all need to be listening to Jesus,” Graham said.
“Again, I think there is an attempt to spin this into something that it isn’t. Remember, President Trump didn’t draw this, he didn’t create it, he reposted it on his social media because he thought it was nice — I would have to agree,” he continued.
Graham reminded his audience that he is not Catholic but an evangelical who appreciates how Trump has defended religious freedom “for people of all faiths, including millions of evangelicals and Catholics in the U.S. and around the world.”
“He is the most pro-Christian, pro-life president in my lifetime, and he doesn’t shy away from it. I would hope that the President and Pope Leo can meet at some point, and that the Pope would have the opportunity to thank the President for his efforts to protect religious liberty for Catholics and people of all faiths,” he added.
Indeed, Trump reposted the image of himself next to Jesus on Wednesday, writing, “The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!! President DJT”
The caption of the meme reads, “I was never a very religious man … but doesn’t it seem, with all these satanic, demonic, child sacrificing [sic] monsters being exposed … that God might be playing his Trump card!”
Trump’s original controversial post coincides with his disagreements with Pope Leo XIV, describing him as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”